Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-24
DAILY HERALD.
FREAKS OF MEMORY.
Hhore Hs No Faculty So lnexplica-
b1e As IeecollcctiOn.

- 0kcUAofy. IL is ioe HioiCiy .hoe ioe
powers vary SO much in different
individuals as that every one has
|ound his or her own liable to the
most unaccountable changes. Why
vivid impressions should seem to be-
,opae entirely obliterated and then
spring to light without the
slightest effort of our own is a mystery
which. is not easily explained.
Many have experienced this in
irving to recall IA name, tune
pr a quotation perhaps, and
then have it present itself unbidden
when considerable time has elapsed
and the thoughts are on another sub
iect, and also many must know the
uneasy feeling with which one will
search for missing article, and the
relief when, in some mysterious way,
the knowledge of where it is flashes
ncross the mind and the article is
found. A retentive memory is con-
of such importance that it is
the first object in education. And so
did the ancients regard it for
lany work Of imagination that they de-
f&ribed the muses. as daughters OF
There are many examples of this
great power in men OF high abili-
ties. Themistocles, we are told could
call by name every citizen OF Athens,
and the number was 10000. Cyrus
knew the name of every soldier i'll his
ar1ny. Hortensius had SO great a
1s,emorv that he recollected, not only
every word he himself had meditated,
hut every sentence OF his adversary's
Grafton, even to the titles and docu-
snents brought forward to support a
ease against him.
1t is not at all strange to find a MEM
ory rctentive on some subjects, and
extremely defective ON others. Alady
Of my acquaintance could tell the num-
her OF stairs contained in each flight
in the house in when she had lived,
and it seemed almost impossible for
her to retain for any length of time a
rx.nembrance of things more import
ant. Miss Addison, daughter OF the
sx.leIrated Addison, seemed to inherit
her fathers memory without his
sssand power of understanding. She
could repeat any part of her fathers
works, in fact the whole of many, but
could not speak or write an intelligent
sentence of her own. She was per-
ksct imbecile. The power OF calcula-
fien from memory is surprising. The
fsssnous mathematician Wallis could
extrsact the cube root from sum OF
thirty figures in bed and in the dark.
1t is said George Ill. never forgot a
face once seen or name he had once
heard.
John Hunters memory once failed
him in the house of a friend. He to-
tally forgot where he was or where
his own home was. He was conscious
III the weakness and tried to restore
his recollections by looking out of the
window to ascertain where he was.
After a little rest, memory gradually
returned. An actor once performing
in play which had had long run all
at once forgot entirely the speech he
was to make. When he got behind
the scenes, he said: "How could | be
expected to remember it forever
Have not repeated it every night for
the last thirty nights" On one ocea-
sion gentleman had to turn to his
companion, when about to leave his
nasne at door where they had called,
10 ask him what it was, SO completely
and suddenly had all memory of it
left him.
After severe illness, and after endur-
ing hardships loss of memory is not
Isauslal. Thucydides relates that some
who recovered from the plague at
Athens lost their memory so COM
pletely that no friend or relation, and
nothing connected with their personal
identity, was remembered. Mental
shocks frequently interrupt, or in some
cases utterly put an end to that exer-
s-ise which the union of body and
mind produces. A fall, a sudden
blow, may suddenly obliterate all rec
objection.
BY a fall from his horse, a gentle
man who was an excellent scholar,
received an injury on his head. He
recovered, but his learning had
vanished, and he had actually to COM
nence his education by starting at the
first step and learning his alphabet.
Another scholar, meeting with SIM
liar accident, lost none of his acquire
nlents but his Greek, and that was
gune entirely. There is on record
the account of an accident which be-
fell DR.. Broussanet, and which re-
suited in apoplexy. When he recov-
cred he had utterly lost the power of
or writing proper names or
my substantive, but memory sup
piled adjectives very readily, and by
their application distinguished what
erer he wished to mention. If he
wished to speak of anyone, he would
designate him by calling him by the
shape or color for which he was remark
able. III his hair was red, he called
him "red," if above the usual height,
he would name him "tall." If he
wanted his hat he asked for his
.sblack." He was an excellent botan-
ist, but he was obliged to make Use of
the same method in speaking of the
plants, because he could not men,
tion the name of one OF them. A
musician was known to call his flute
u tufie, thus using all the letters of
the right word, which it was impossible
fssr him to speak. An extraordinary
ease of periodical recollection occurred
in All old man who had forgotten all
tiae events of his younger days, unless
they were recalled to his memory by
Eome occurrence yet, every night
regularly, he recollected some one
particular circumstance of his early
lille. A gentleman of my acquaint-
sance said he was once in great danger
OF drowning, and in a brief space OF
fime every event of his life came
yividly to his mind as completely as
though painted on canvas.
A sad thing has been related of a
young clergyman who was accidentally
ssliot in the forehead by II friend just
fwo days before his marriage was to
have taken place. For u long time
his life was despaired Of. He recoy-
erred, but his mind was impaired. His
memory retained nothing but the idea
a his approaching marriage. Ev.
erything was absorbed in that